Sharing links to Autistic Voices, Parent Voices, and other Perspectives on the Spectrum – working to build bridges to understanding and acceptance on behalf of family, friends and those among us who face challenges every day.

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Bookworm: Autism’s False Prophets

“A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.”–attributed to Winston Churchill and Mark Twain.
There is one issue related to autism that I have avoided: the anti-vaccine movement’s erroneous claim that vaccines cause autism. I avoided the issue because I feel it’s a dead horse issue. I felt no need to address it because I saw no way to add to the discussion. Yet the lie persists. How did the lie even start? That was something I always wondered about. Paul Offit starts his book like any true scientist should–by establishing his credibility. He explains what made him want to study infectious diseases in the first place. He presents a visit to the hospital for clubbed feet that resulted in him being placed a ward with polio patients. Vaccines ended the suffering of many with polio. In countries such…